I've tried before but none of my attempts have ever been very successful. I'm not planning on hanging it on the wall, just resting it against the wall, so I'm not too concerned about weight but I would like whatever materials I buy to fit in my small car so I don't have to rent a truck to get them home.

My two current ideas:

1) Three sheets of 2'x'4 1/4" plywood, somehow bound into one big 6x4 panel. On top of that, attach four pieces of foam core board. Attach the map to that using mounting tape. Apply trim around the edges.

2) Instead of plywood, get three sheets of polystyrene foam insulation. Much lighter than plywood but I worry about the durability.

Am I missing something obvious? I've searched the internet but most ideas I come across don't seem all that great.

Should I just bite the bullet and rent a truck so I can use a single piece of plywood?

I think you are going at it a bit backwards. You need a sturdy frame more than backing, so think about what edges you want and go from there. In fact, if done appropriately, you won't need any backing, and the thing should still be light without it.

If it were me, I would do some wood working to make the frame, but I already own the tools to do this...

Home Depot, etc. sell 1/8th" hardboard in 4x8* sheets for about $12. It's very light and somewhat flexible while smooth on one side. If you want a nice backing, I would recommend that stuff. It's also stiff enough to frame around. Or, it's also stiff enough to mount without any kind of frame (just drill through each corner and screw to the wall. You could mount the map to the hardboard with tape, glue, tacks, or whatever.

Fix the map to the board with blue tape along two edges for square, then trace the other two edges and cut off the excess. Clean the board, then affix the map with stuff.

Presto. Frame or not, your choice.

*you would lose 1" along the short side.

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I am guessing this does not have to be pretty... So your primary concern is how to get the corners to work between pieces of wood that have already been cut to size since Home Depot will do that for you.

This site has some very simple methods of joining pieces of wood at a corner, the simplest ones would require you to have a drill (you probably already have one, and a hand saw, always useful and relatively cheap). It will not be beautiful, but with some wood glue and screws you can get a sturdy connection...

I'll second the hardboard recommendation for a project like this, or for extra lightness go with corrugated plastic board (sold in 48x96 as well).

I get the wanting to make it out of easily transported and smaller pieces, but I think you're going to run into creasing and unwanted folding if you go that route. A rental truck isn't ideal, sure, but nobody in your circle has a pick-up that you can buy him/her lunch for the trouble? The corrugated plastic and (to a lesser extent) hardboard have some flex… maybe you could even fit either of those into a larger Jeep-style vehicle.

That said, if you go with the corrugated plastic you could have them cut 1 sheet into 2 (2x6) and 1 into 3 (2x4) pieces and glue them together (opposed) for extra sturdiness. If cut with a razor knife they have very little fraying (if at all). It'd still be worlds lighter than plywood and not have any creasing. You could probably fit those in your car. They're cheap too. ~10 bucks a 4'x8' sheet.

I'll second the hardboard recommendation for a project like this, or for extra lightness go with corrugated plastic board (sold in 48x96 as well).

I get the wanting to make it out of easily transported and smaller pieces, but I think you're going to run into creasing and unwanted folding if you go that route. A rental truck isn't ideal, sure, but nobody in your circle has a pick-up that you can buy him/her lunch for the trouble? The corrugated plastic and (to a lesser extent) hardboard have some flex… maybe you could even fit either of those into a larger Jeep-style vehicle.

I just moved here and literally everyone at my company (all four of us) drives a hatchback.

There was this annual contest in Popular Mechanics (Science? I was subscribed to both) back when I was I was a kid, and it was basically: build something awesome out of one and only one sheet of plywood. Looking back on it, it was likely sponsored by one of the major lumber companies, but man, did I ever look forward to that issue. The creative use of every last bit of a simple 4x8 was design crack for my young mind. I still look fondly back on those days.

[edit]: HA! It was Popular Science and sponsored by the APA (American Plywood Association). Apparently it only ran for 8 years and there's a book on Amazon about it (unfortunately out of print). Dated, sure, but what fun.

Look in the yellow pages for a map shop. They probably have contraptions available for displaying maps, since that is their entire business - selling maps, and then having their customers display them.

Besides ordinary people, their customers for especially large maps might be international businesses, universities, museums, all of which would need display capabilities for their maps, just as you do.

Just a thought.

(There's a map shop where I live, dealing exclusively in maps, so I know they exist. )

When I got to Home Depot, I saw that pickup rentals were only $20 so I bought a single piece of 4x8 plywood, had them cut it to 4x6 that was that. Right now it's on the floor with piles of books trying to flatten out the map.

I didn't even know that plywood came in 1/4" size. I've only ever seen 3/4". Had I known there was a thin version, that I could actually lift with greater ease, I might have come up with all kinds of uses for it over the years. I'll have to go over to Home Depot and see if they have any skinny plywood on hand.

I once ordered a parchment-like copy of the Magna Carta and had it sent from England, but I don't even know where it is now because I never got around to mounting it on a substantial backing. It might be rolled up in a protective tube, and though thin plywood would not have been my choice of backing, it's always nice to have an array of alternatives on hand.